48. Save $100-$200 per month – Save money on phone, television, internet and cable communications
This article contains a comprehensive listing for you to save money on phone, television, internet and cable communications.
Check out the internet for the cheapest phone, cable and internet plans.
Also, use an internet fax service instead of buying fax and pay communication costs (see for example fax87.com, or efax.com)
Downgrade your phone services: When's the last time you used call forwarding or had a three way chat? Only use services that are absolutely necessary. Take advantage of free long distance with your cell phone if possible. Consider using VoIP or a cell phone to eliminate your land line.
Consolidate services: Most of the big telecom companies and cable providers now offer discounts if you use them for combined cable, telephone and internet service.
Join your parents’ family cell phone plan. It is usually much cheaper than a standalone account. You'll pay one bill together, share a bunch of minutes, and reap in the savings.
Cancel the cable or satellite channels you don’t watch. Many people with cable services often are paying for a premium package but rarely watch those extra channels. For the longest time, my wife and I were subscribed to HBO, Starz, and Cinemax, yet we would only tune in once a month at best. We argued that it was worth it because we could watch a movie or a great drama whenever we wanted, but it would have been far cheaper just to rent a movie. Get rid of the excess channels and put that cash back in your pocket.
Get rid of that ''1,000 mega-channel lineup,'' and switch to basic cable. You can save as much as $20 a month.
Use TV antenna and skip cable or satellite:
- I discovered that the antenna on my roof provides me with 30-35 channels in HD and it cost me $0 a month!!!
- We cut cable and went to air antenna and watch almost everything we could want on Hulu for FREE! I switched to Clear for internet that I can take anywhere with me and it costs only $30 a month. I use Google talk for a landline to make calls through my laptop.
- What's wrong with an antenna, people?! I have never had satellite or cable, ever. I get 35 channels with the antenna and I live in the middle of nowhere! How much can I watch? Cable and satellite are NOT necessities, but I see almost no one recommending to cut them off.
- Turned my cable tv off, brought out my rabbit ears and i receive 14 free channels, easy
enough
- Forget the satellite-tv for $40 a month and buy a good antenna for around $100 and you will get at minimum 30 channels that are comparable to basic cable and it will cost you nothing per month. If you want movies get Netflix and you can get that right on your TV either through your new BlueRay DVD player or Wii and this is only $9.00 a month.
- I recently cut cable. When my bill was increased unexplained $20, it was "the final straw that broke the camels back". Since then I purchased a Roku and signed up with Netflix and Hulu plus and I have access to 95% popular TV shows. It's also more kid friendly than cable TV or Satellite as roku is picture based guide not text based. My monthly cable bill went from $140 to $18 a month.
- Frankly, they are still paying too much money out. Unless cell phones are a need in your work, Landline without the frills is still the best option. I have a prepaid cell that has an auto $10 download of 100 minutes a month for emergencies when out and the never ending text messages from people who rather text then call. My home phone does NOT have the bells and whistles that somehow we think are necessary nowadays............no caller id, call waiting, voice-mail (I have an answering machine). No cable or satellite for tv, instead I bought a very good roof top HDTV antenna and get 33 channels. I downloaded Amazon's free Kindle for pc and download free and bargain price books, go to the library and check out movies and books. I check out best insurance prices about once a year and change when I see I can save. I enjoy my life and don't feel deprived.
- My TV costs me nothing per month - I have an antenna in the attic. My land line, including Internet, costs me $53 per month. No need for a cellphone. Just between the two LUXURIES of cable/satellite TV and cell phones, so many Americans are wasting around $200 - $400 per month.
We - i mean my husband and i- gave up the landline phone about 2 yrs ago, for many years tried: at&t, verizon, bell atlantic, time warner, etc etc etc- each month the phone bills were ridiculous, taking in consideration that none of us was at home most of the day, but then there were: wire maintenance 2$, wire this 1$, wire that another $.
For 2 yrs we have cellulars each of us, from metro PCS, its paid at the beginning of the month, unlimited calls, .....much better. My internet is from the cable- time warner. Conclusion: we cut off aprox $200 / month.
Cable TV is always a waste of money. If you can get FIOS, you can combine the TV and phone (and internet) into a single line for $100 a month. I get every single channel on FIOS for $150 a month. The landline phone is eventually going to be extinct. The only people still holding on are those who have long term phone numbers. I've had my home number for over 25 years. As for Cellphones, you should only have a smartphone if you are constantly using the internet or apps. Otherwise, you could use a regular cellphone. A cellphone can double as your landline in some circumstances.
Cancel your long-distance package on your home phone if you don't use long distance often. By purchasing a phone card, you can have the convenience of using the phone in your home without paying needless $5.00 monthly charges for the privilege to have a long distance company connected to your home phone.
Cancel satellite tv for Netflix/free local channels: $100 savings per month
Cancel cell phone bill and replace with pay per use and stop talking on phone and use email.
Don't get a smart phone - they are dumb since the service is so high for something that is not used enough.
I pay $75 month for Clearwire at home and on the go. Use my netbook, and can have eight devices at home, one for blu ray netflix.
The communications industry is breaking the bank. Less is more for me now.
Hook your computer (laptop or otherwise) to your TV, monthly cost = $0.00
Shop around for cell phone plans. I use my cell phone a lot. At Walmart, I found a provider called StraightTalk (which uses Verizon cell phone towers). I have unlimited calling, unlimited internet, unlimited text for just under $50 after taxes. Granted, no app features, etc, but it does what I need.
Good job. Recently I took a look at a lot of my bills as well. I cut the cable bill by $42.00 a month, got rid of the landline, consolidated our cell phones and now I am saving roughly 250.00 a month.
I had been paying the same rate for DSL cable for 4 years, and always so these new promotions for NEW customers...well, I called my ISP and got my bill cut in half! This will save me $600 in 12 months. My cellphone company will be the next to get a call. Loyalty should count for something.
It is cheaper to buy movies $5.00 at Walmart at least you can watch them over and over again! You don't have to wait for the cable company to play them! You could also rent DVDs or go to the cinema.
I bought a cell phone from a retail store for about $12.00 and use a phone card for emergency calls only. I would use 911 for the emergency call and save my phone card which the minutes don't expire if you don't use them.
Home phone is MagicJack internet phone $20.00 per year.
I use MagicJack. I paid a one-time charge of $40 dollars for the jack itself, and I get local, long distance, call waiting, call forwarding, 911, 411, all for $19.99 a year. A YEAR! It works through the internet, so when the power goes out, I use my free cell phone with the free minutes I got through the government. I get over a hundred free minutes each month, and hardly ever use the thing, so my minutes build up.
If you want to keep your landline #, most cell phone companies will add a line for $10 or so. Before you cancel your landline, add the line to your cell carrier, and you can port your landline # over so you don't loose that #. That's what we did. We use a cell phone as our landline, so the kids still have a phone to use at the house. Saved $70 by canceling landline, paid $10 more to cell carrier, everything is the same. Saved $60 a month.
Subscribe to DVD rental service like NetFlix.
Figure out how much you currently spend on renting videos. A service like Netflix or Blockbuster Online might be cheaper (and will also save you gas).
Save money on your home entertainment
Watch your favorite shows online instead of paying for cable.
Call Up Phone Savings, average savings: $35 per month
The average family spends $90 a month for a home phone, cell phones, pagers, and phone cards, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. When we examined real phone bills, we uncovered savings from $15 per month for budget callers to $55 per month for heavy users.
How to Do It
Investigate your last few months' phone bills to assess how many minutes you typically use on landline and wireless calls. Comparison shop among cellular service providers, the local phone company, independent long-distance carriers, and your cable TV company. Don't buy more than you need, such as an unlimited cellular plan if you rarely go over 900 minutes per month.
Consider all possible money savers, such as measured local service, prepaid phone cards and cell phones, cut-rate long-distance carriers, VoIP service, and landline/Internet/TV packages.
Cell phone: I am rather tired of paying $50 per month when I don’t really use my cell all that much.
So first I examined my text usage and was astonished to see that I use less than 200 texts per month, but I have an unlimited plan. I switched that to 400 texts per month and shaved $10 off my bill. Next I looked at my minutes usage. I pay $30 for 300 minutes and free weekends, and I usually use around 70 of the 300. So I switched to a $20 plan that gives me 60 regular minutes, 60 weekend minutes, and 500 mobile-to-mobile minutes. Thus, I nearly cut my bill in half!
1. Find comparable plans for your usage on other cellphone networks. For example, I’m with AT&T, so I’ll investigate Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint by going to their websites. Write down how much they each cost, how many minutes you get, and any other benefits.
2. Call your current cellphone company. To make it easy, here are the phone numbers:
Save money on cell phone purchases, use Amazon.
Normal = Just pay the regular price at the Verizon store
I had no idea that you can save $100 or more by NOT renewing & upgrading your cell phone service at the store. Instead you can buy cheap cell phones online from Amazon.com and do it all with them. I didn’t think much of it until I saw that some of the top phones are $100 or more cheaper from them than through your carrier.
Try to talk in person and meet each other once a week rather than talking on the phone and waste money, or use the internet/email to communicate.
The couple pays $5 a month on each of two cellphones, but only so they can reach each other in an emergency. “I chat with friends on the home phone just to say ‘hi’ and decide where to meet, but I prefer to see people in person,” says Sue.
Shop your long distance. Even if you aren't willing to go to the hassle of finding the best long distance deals, at least call your current long distance provider and make sure you're on the cheapest plan for your needs. Before you start shopping long distance, be sure and look at a few bills to see what your calling patterns are. Do you make most of your calls to one person? Mostly night and weekends? How long are your average calls? How much do you typically spend? This type of information is important to know before you can find the best overall plan for your family. And, just as with other services, don't be afraid to ask for a discount. The way to do it is simply to say you've found a better deal elsewhere and ask your current company to match the rates. Don't lie, however: they're likely to verify the information.
If you make very few toll or long distance calls, avoid calling plans with monthly fees or minimums. Or consider disconnecting the service altogether and use dial around services such as 10-10 numbers or prepaid phone cards for your calls. When shopping for dial around service, look for fees, call minimum, and per minute rates. Treat prepaid cards as cash and find out if there is an expiration date.
Drop your long-distance carrier altogether if you make infrequent long-distance phone calls. Instead, use a prepaid phone card, a dial-around service or even your cell phone if you've got the minutes.
Some low-cost carriers may charge a fee if you receive a paper bill. Sidestep this fee by paying your bills online.
If you're always on the run, consider swapping a land line for a cell phone. You'll save on the monthly service fee, taxes and long-distance fees for a land phone that's rarely used.
Know the lingo. Its hard to shop smart for something when you don't know what questions to ask. In long-distance land, there are three major ones. First,“What is your cost per minute?” Second, “What is your billing increment?” Billing increment is crucial if you make lots of calls, and especially lots of short calls.
Billing increments for the “big three,” AT&T, Sprint and MCI/WorldCom, are typically one minute. That means if you talk for one minute and one second, you get charged for two minutes. Other companies may have billing increments of only six seconds, which is obviously a better deal. Third question: “What fees will I pay?” Many of the larger companies charge a fixed monthly fee in addition to their rate-per-minute. Depending on what you're spending, this seemingly small fee could radically change your cost-per-minute.
Don't take their word for it. We tend to regard anything printed out by a computer as accurate, which is often far from the case. Look at your bills and make sure you're actually paying the per-minute rate you were promised. Mistakes abound, and by some odd coincidence, they almost always seem to favor the company!
Don't forget calling cards! If you travel, calling cards are important because they allow you to get the same rates from the road that you're used to paying at home, at least theoretically. But the big three long distance carriers often have ridiculously high rates and fees for their cards. Before you enroll in any plan, be sure to ask about calling card rates. If the plan is otherwise perfect but the calling card rates seem too high, you can always buy low-cost pre-paid cards with rates as low as five cents a minute.
Free cellular phones aren't free. Normally you're better off getting a cheaper plan and buying your own cellular phone. Plans that include “free” phones often also come with long contracts and higher monthly costs.
Long distance calls made during evenings, at night, or on weekends can cost significantly less than weekday calls.
Whenever possible, dial your long distance calls directly. Using the operator to complete a call can cost you an extra $1 to $3.
Only call when necessary and keep it short and brief, use SMS as much as possible to save money.
Cancel all the extra services you don't use such as call waiting, caller ID, voicemail, call forwarding and threeway calling. Check your phone bill to see if you have optional calling features or additional services, such as inside wire maintenance, that you don’t need. Each option you drop could save you $40 or more each year.
For cellphones, don’t waste money on things like ring tones or wallpapers that you don’t need.
Are you stuck in a phone plan and want to find an easy way out? You can swap it for a new short-term contract or simply give it away at Cellswapper.com and forego bothering with early-termination fees.
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